Nah, She Didn't
by unusuallyloquacious
Summary: Lily Evans doesn't like James Potter. Or does she? With a war looming over their heads, there are choices to be made. Can she trust herself to make the right ones?
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Hi! This is my first time writing on this website. I've also published the same story on HPFF, in case any of you see it there. Anyway, please let me know how you like it! This is my second (and hopefully more successful) attempt at writing a fic. Naturally, I chose my favourite canon pairing. Okay, now read on!_

 _-B_

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It had been a while since any of them had seen the sun even though summer was well underway. But on the morning of 15 July, 1978, Lily Evans awoke to witness the brightest morning of that year. Whatever little fear she had at the back of her mind cleared as the sky opened up and the sunlight streamed through her windows, wrapping her in its warm embrace. From where she lay on her bed, she could see a beautiful white dress hung near the window and she smiled to herself as she thought about how Lily Evans was soon going to be Lily Potter.

It was a beautiful morning, a reprieve from the past month's grey mornings. She felt a chill go down her spine as she thought about the mist that had seemed to engulf all of England as the dementors swarmed all over the country leaving the population in a state of unexplained despair. She was glad she wasn't there; glad James had whisked her away for a little ceremony in the French Riviera. It was just one weekend, but she decided to indulge her five-year-old self and didn't fight against him giving her a fairytale wedding. Their families and friends deserved a small celebration, a break from the grim atmosphere that gripped the entire nation.

Pushing thoughts about the impending war from her mind, she walked over to the window that displayed the beauty of Cote D'Azur, and took a deep breath. She put the kettle on and absentmindedly sat down on the bed and started to think about the events of the previous year. She smiled a little as she thought back to one year ago and how different everything had been then.

* * *

"Potter!" She'd screamed, though the reason for yelling this particular name was quite different that time. She'd seen Avery aim a curse at his turned back and James Potter was a little too late in responding to her voice because his first thought was to think about what he'd done to warrant a shout from Evans again. In a split second, her wand was out and right before the curse reached Potter, she'd cast a particularly strong shield charm that sent Avery flying backwards into a wall.

James was quite confused as he turned around to find Avery lying in a crumpled heap near the door to the Transfiguration classroom. He looked up to see Lily there with her wand in her hand, her green eyes seemed to be blazing with fury as she walked up to Avery, gave him detention and docked 30 points from Slytherin for an unprovoked attack. He ran a hand through his hair nervously as she approached him and said, "You really ought to watch your back, Potter! You're playing Quidditch tomorrow, the last thing we want right now is to see the Captain in the hospital wing." He was dumbstruck, didn't know what to say. Evans, Lily Evans, had just saved him from what was probably, quite a serious curse given who had cast it and was advising him to stay safe because she didn't want him to sit out a Quidditch match.

As she looked at him expectantly waiting for his reply, Avery walked up to them, having dusted himself off and muttered "Filthy mudblood" as he shoved past her angrily. James' wand was out and pointing at the base of his jaw before he'd gotten the whole word out.

"What did you say?" He asked, angrily.

"Just the truth," Avery smirked knowing he had gotten the reaction he was hoping for.

Lily walked towards James and said, "Let it go, it doesn't matter."

"It matters."

"Potter, I'm telling you, let it go."

"No, I am not letting it go."

"Why are you so insufferable? Can't you just let it be?"

"Yeah, listen to your mudblood whore, blood traitor." Avery said as he spat in Lily's direction.

Before James could react, Avery was on the floor, clutching his sides as tentacles seemed to be growing out of abdomen and back. Dumbstruck for the second time that day, he turned his attention towards Evans and saw fury in her eyes for the second time within a few minutes. This time though, she remained angry when she looked at him.

"I don't need you saving me every time someone says something. It may have escaped your notice, but I am perfectly capable of handling myself." He'd heard that from her a million times, he knew she didn't need saving, the evidence lay at his feet, but she didn't know why that word riled him up so much. He sighed, "I'm sorry, Evans. It's just… that word."

Her features softened a little as she said, "I know and thank you. But I'd rather not hex everyone that calls me that and I wouldn't want you to either. Now, I'm going to go report this to Professor McGonagall, and maybe talk myself out of a detention."

With that, she turned on her heel and walked inside the Transfiguration classroom outside which the ordeal had taken place. A crowd seemed to have gathered around him and Filch came running with Mrs. Norris at his heels. "Magic in the corridors! I will report you to Professor McGonagall, come with me, Potter!"

"There will be no need for that, Mr. Filch. I have spoken with Miss Evans here and this incident will be handled. If you could please accompany Mr. Avery to the hospital wing, thank you." McGonagall turned to Lily, "I will be reporting this event to Professor Slughorn and Professor Dumbledore, Miss Evans. We do not tolerate such slurs. However, given that you are a Prefect, I hope you refrain from using such extreme methods of retaliation next time. Now head on to class, both of you."

James and Lily were heading to Charms when James said, "Thanks, Evans. I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it. Where's the rest of your posse though? It's odd to see you roaming the corridors alone."

Potter ran a hand through his hair, a habit that seemed to have annoyed Lily to no end, but somehow didn't seem too bad today as he looked at her, his hazel eyes twinkling behind his glasses and his hair a mess at the top of his head. He shrugged, "I had to head down to the Quidditch pitch early to grab my bag that I'd left behind yesterday and you know how hard it is to convince three adolescent boys to leave breakfast early."

She smiled a little. He said, "It's odd to see you not annoyed with me. Not that I mind."

"It's hard to be annoyed at you when someone else is doing the hexing."

He smiled to himself as he opened the class door for her and she walked in before him. His friends were already there, and they whistled as he entered the classroom with her. She rolled her eyes at them and walked over to where her friends were sitting.

"From what I can see, James looks okay today, in fact he looks positively radiant." Marlene McKinnon remarked as Lily took out some parchment and a quill.

"Your point being?"

"Well, you walked in together… and a Potter and Evans interaction without an argument is unheard of," Dorcas Meadowes piped in.

"It's not that rare! And Avery was about to hex him in the corridors and he had his back turned so I may have helped him out…"

"Lily Evans helping James out? Now that is unheard of for sure." Dorcas grinned.

"Shut up," she said, lightly pushing her shoulder. "He just needed help, plus I only did it so you wouldn't lose the Quidditch final tomorrow."

"Or maybe you're starting to see he's grown up a lot this year and keeping up with that cat and mouse game you both seemed to have played for the last six years has become quite tiring." Just then, Professor Flitwick started to talk about the lesson for the day and Lily was saved the need to respond to her best friends.

As Professor Flitwick started talking about Bubblehead Charms, Lily's mind wandered off and she started to think about what Dorcas had said. Maybe he had grown up, there certainly had not been as many pranks this year. Of course, there was still an odd detention here and there but ever since he had received the Quidditch Captain post at the beginning of that year, something seemed to have changed.

 _Good for him_ , she thought to herself as she started taking notes for the appropriate wand movements for the Bubblehead Charm.

Across the classroom, James found himself staring at Lily. Her mind seemed to have wandered off as she stared at the wall with a blank expression.

"Oi, Prongs, how come Evans didn't hex you today?" Sirius asked James as Professor Flitwick divided them into pairs to practice.

"Dunno, mate. In fact, she saved me from Avery's hex today. I had my back turned when that snake threw a hex at me. Most likely to injure me before tomorrow's match against Slytherin."

"Hold on, she saved you?" Peter piped in.

Remus rolled his eyes at Peter, "Of course she did. Lily would never stand for an unprovoked attack."

"Maybe you should ask her out again, what if she likes you now!" Sirius chucked a quill at Peter and said, "That's so stupid, Wormy. She's only just started to be civil to him because he didn't spend the whole year asking her out. Prongs, I feel like it's time to broaden your horizons a bit. Evans is clearly not interested. Besides, due to reasons completely beyond me, girls seem to have taken to you ever since you started wearing that shiny badge on your robes. Amber Green seemed to be quite smitten, ask her out at the victory party tomorrow."

James thought about Sirius' suggestion for a couple of moments before saying, "You know what? Yeah, I'll do it after the match tomorrow."

Sirius clapped him on his back and Remus grinned at him, happy to see his friend moving on from a girl who didn't seem to return his feelings.

Across the room, Lily successfully caste the Bubblehead Charm, being the first one in the room to do so, earning Gryffindor 20 points. She didn't notice James Potter's eyes staring at her as he made a resolution to finally move on from her.

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 _AN: Helloooo! Love it, hate it? Review it, so I know!_


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Hey all! A very very special thanks to sonali13 and powerofthename for being my first reviewers! I'm glad you guys liked the first chapter. The second one took some time to write because it was quite difficult to write the Quidditch match. Let me know how you like it!_

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The morning of the Quidditch Final brought with it a burst of sunlight, a clear sky and a light breeze. James breathed a sigh of relief when he awoke that morning, glad to see the perfect conditions for a match. They had to win by a margin of 200 points against Slytherin if they wanted to win the Quidditch Cup, otherwise Slytherin would win the Cup due to the fact that they had a larger point difference but the same number of wins. That meant Gryffindor would have to maintain a lead of at least 50 points before the snitch was caught, of course, Dorcas already knew his game plan. It was his first final as Captain and to say he was nervous was a gross understatement.

The Slytherin team under the captainship of Emma Vanity was the best team the house had seen in years; James could, however, count on Flint to turn the tables in their favour as the Slytherin beater was prone to committing fouls that lead to penalties. As James woke up that morning, he chucked a pillow across the room at the snoring outline of his best friend underneath his bedcovers. Sirius awoke with a start and stared at James from behind the hangings of his four-poster.

"You arse! What'd you do that for?" he exclaimed loudly, waking up Remus and Peter in the process. Their sleepy faces emerged from behind their bed hangings and James gave them all a cheeky grin.

"I woke up early because of the match, let's go get breakfast!"

"Prongs, it is 7am on a Saturday, I will hex your sorry arse into nothingness if you don't leave the room now. You know I need to sleep, I can't afford to have dark circles!" Sirius was known for his dramatics. Chuckling lightly, James climbed out of bed and went to take a quick shower before changing into his Quidditch robes and heading downstairs for breakfast. Before he left, he aimed a swift kick at Sirius' behind who grunted as he fell out of bed and threw a shoe at James as he closed the door behind him. Within seconds, the snores of three adolescent boys filled the room again.

As James entered the partly empty Great Hall, he saw Lily sitting by herself engrossed in a book with her hand stuck in mid-air, holding a spoon aimed towards her half-open mouth.

"Evans!" She jumped and spilled the milk in her spoon down her t-shirt. She was wearing Muggle clothing that morning, a t-shirt with some band named 'Queen' on it with well-fitting jeans that were folded at the bottom.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Potter?" she sounded slightly annoyed. She put the book down which upon closer inspection turned out to be a Muggle book called '1984', performed a quick cleaning spell on her t-shirt and turned to face him.

"Nothing, I was just hoping to see your face before the match, for luck, you know," he winked. Though usually she would have gotten annoyed, that day she just rolled her eyes at him as a faint pink glow spread over her cheeks.

Lily could feel her cheeks getting warm. After Charms yesterday, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about how much Potter seemed to have changed in a year, not that she liked him or anything; just that it was easier to see how charming he could be when he wanted to, and sometimes somewhat thoughtful too. She chided herself mentally for acting all moon-eyed over his _charm_.

"Like you need any. You know Gryffindor's going to win," she said.

"Yeah but we still need a considerable margin to win the Cup. Can't be losing to Slytherin this year, specially not after last year," he sighed. Last year's defeat in the final match had been humiliating. It had been a full moon night the night before, when he'd stopped Snape from going after Moony because of Padfoot's stupid prank, of course nobody except his friends knew why he kept losing possession of the Quaffle that easily or why he wasn't as alert as he usually was.

Lily gave him a knowing look, as though aware of what had happened that night. With a pang, he realised she had been friends with Snape, something he seemed have forgotten that year since he hadn't seen his slimy face following her around. He was sure she didn't know the full extent of it though, Professor Dumbledore had sworn Snape to secrecy about Moony's condition.

"The match isn't till noon though, why're you dressed already?"

James grinned sheepishly, "Helps me get pumped up."

"Are you nervous?"

"No, Evans," he rolled his eyes at her. "It's just the Quidditch Final, I'm just the captain, it's no big deal, I don't feel like throwing up at all." She hit him lightly on the arm with her book as she grinned, "James Potter is like all of us mere mortals, he gets _nervous_ , sometimes his head leaves the sky to actually sit on his shoulders."

He threw her a cheeky, lopsided grin and threw his hand up to his hair again, rumpling it up at the back. Both of them seemed lost in their conversation, as James finally asked her about the book she was reading and the band on her t-shirt. Neither of them noticed the intensity with which Severus Snape was looking at the two from across the other end of the Great Hall. Snape's face was twisted with fury, his breakfast lay forgotten as he finally tore his eyes away from the pair and wrote something down on a piece of parchment. With another glare at Lily and James, he stormed out of the Great Hall, his face displaying a look of determination as he stalked off towards the Slytherin Common Room, a plan already taking form in his head.

Almost everyone had turned up for the final match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Up in the stands, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Lily and Marlene were sporting red and gold and carrying a huge banner with a roaring lion on it. Even Hagrid had left his cabin to support his old house; he sat next to seventh year Alice Macmillan who was chatting with him about her wedding to Frank Longbottom, seventh year Gryffindor Chaser that was to take place that summer.

Down below on the field, Madam Hooch blew the whistle signaling kick-off. From the stands, 5th year Ravenclaw, Dirk Cresswell's booming voice filled the Quidditch pitch and the stands surrounding it, "Gryffindor Captain Potter has the Quaffle as he races towards the Slytherin hoops and AMAZING MOVE, just as Carrow dives to protects the Slytherin hoops, Potter outmaneuvers him and passes the Quaffle to Longbottom who shoots and SCORES – Gryffindor 10 – 0."

A cheer erupted from the Gryffindor stands. Lily's eyes wandered over to her best friend Dorcas who was hovering far above, keeping an eye out for the snitch. Regulus Black seemed to be following suit, he was in his third year and had been appointed Slytherin Seeker that year.

"Slytherin now in possession of the Quaffle. Mulciber to Talkalot, back to Mulciber, he shoots and Wood saves it! Wonderful save by Gryffindor Keeper! The Quaffle in play again, and Slytherin Beater Higgs sends a well-aimed Bludger towards Gryffindor Chaser Vance which is cleared away by King."

James sent King a thumbs up and went bolting towards Vance in order to execute one of their plays.

"Vance passes the Quaffle to Longbottom, who passes it back to her, who passes it to Potter. Potter narrowly avoids a Bludger which is cleared away by Johnson and he shoots and scores! Gryffindor lead 20-0!"

Up above, Black seemed to have noticed something glittering near Potter's broom. Just as he was about to dive for the snitch, Dorcas realised what he was doing. She also knew it was too soon for the Snitch to be caught, they needed more points. She raced after him and banged into his broom.

Madam Hooch blew her whistle and awarded Slytherin a penalty which they scored easily, Dorcas however was grinning because in the confusion of it all, the snitch had disappeared again.

"The score is 20-10, this match is getting more and more interesting by the minute! Flint flings his Beaters bat and instead of the Bludger, aims for Meadowes' turned back! Penalty to Gryffindor! Potter puts it away bringing the score to 30-10. Slytherin in possession of the Quaffle now, from Carrow to Mulciber to Slytherin Captain Vanity as she shoots and WONDERFUL SAVE by OLIVIA WOOD, just in her third year but already one of the best Keepers Gryffindor have had."

Dorcas cheered along with the rest of the team, but the play continued. James scored twice more, pulling forty points ahead of Slytherin. Flint seemed to be getting angrier by the minute and started committing blatant fouls. He tried to push Dorcas off her broom which earned Gryffindor another penalty which they scored easily, making the score 60-10.

Vanity called for a time-out. She seemed to be yelling angrily at Flint, who had a mean glint in his eyes. After a few instructions to her team, they took off again.

Dorcas knew now was the time. Her eyes scanned the Quidditch Pitch and she saw it, glittering in the sunlight next to the middle Slytherin hoop. Just as she started to speed towards it, Black followed suit. He was catching up to her, they were neck and neck. On the other side of the pitch, Vanity scored against Gryffindor, making the score 60-20.

James knew Dorcas was too engrossed in her pursuit of the snitch to realise they were now 40 points ahead. Just as Dorcas' reached the Snitch it flew upwards and she streaked after it. Longbottom seemed to realise the urgency of another goal and he passed the Quaffle to James who rushed towards the Slytherin hoops. He aimed from halfway across the pitch and threw the Quaffle with so much force it streaked past Carrow's ear like a bullet. Just as Gryffindor scored, Dorcas' hands clasped around the Snitch and Madam Hooch sounded the whistle.

A few minutes later, James was still in a daze as Dumbledore handed him the Quidditch Cup. He was grinning from ear to ear and his teammates hoisted him up in the air as they made their way across the Quidditch Pitch.

Half an hour later, James and the rest of the team had changed out of their Quidditch robes and headed to the Gryffindor Common Room for the afterparty the rest of the Marauders had already set up. As they climbed through the portrait hole, a huge cheer erupted from everyone.

Moony seemed to have smuggled a lot of food from the kitchen, while Padfoot and Wormtail had set up rows and rows of Butterbeer for everyone to enjoy. James grabbed a bottle and walked over to Lily who was talking to Dorcas.

"Alright, Evans?" He grinned.

"Congratulations, Potter! That was a wonderfully timed goal, I must say." She was beaming at him, and James felt like someone had let a snitch loose inside his stomach.

"Told you talking to you would be lucky," he said. Lily rolled her eyes at him, "If that's the case you should do that before every single one of your matches."

"Why, Evans, it seems you finally know why I've always insisted you talk to me."

"Look at you two, getting along," Dorcas commented, taking a sip of her Butterbeer. Lily pushed her lightly, "Shut up. I'm going to go get myself a Butterbeer, and you're coming with me." She grabbed her hand and made her way through the crowd.

James was slightly crushed, he'd been hoping to talk to her more. He shook himself out of it, and walked over to his friends instead. As he caught sight of Sirius, he remembered the promise he'd made his friend the previous morning.

"So, Prongs! Are you ready to leave Lilyland and ask out the the girl who hasn't been able to keep her eyes off you the entire time you've been here?" Sirius had also not forgotten.

"I'd rather just go to Hogsmeade with you three tomorrow."

"Moony and Wormy are staying back tomorrow because it seems that Wormy has fallen behind on his Ancient Runes homework again and Moony has been kind enough to volunteer to stay and help. And before you ask, no, you are not welcome to join me tomorrow because I will spend most of the day snogging Amelia Levesque at Madam Puddifoots."

"You hate Madam Puddifoots," Peter remarked.

"Oh, but I do love snogging," Sirius winked. Remus rolled his eyes at his friend and turned to James, "Go for it, Prongs. I tutored Amber last year, she can be good company. What's the worst that could happen?"

He took a deep breath, finished the last bit of his Butterbeer and made his way over to the dark haired 5th Year Gryffindor who was talking to her friends. What's the worst that could happen?

"Hey, Amber," he gave her a very James Potter smirk and she blushed as she let him lead her away from his friends.

The party was in full swing, Remus and Peter were singing the latest song by the Hobgoblins off-tune while Sirius threw pieces of bread at them to make them stop. Lily was laughing at their show with Dorcas, Marlene, Emmeline and Mary; Alice and Frank were in a secluded corner, happy and in love; the rest of the seventh years seemed to be making the most of this party as it was going to be the last one before they wrote their NEWTs; all seemed well in the Gryffindor Common Room.

After the first song, Lily realised James was missing. Her eyes scanned the Common Room and landed on two figures in the shadow of a bookcase. James was snogging Amber Green and she couldn't explain why but she felt her heart sink a little. She turned her attention back to Remus and Peter but her smile wasn't as wide as it had been a couple of minutes ago.

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 _AN: That's the chapter! The story seems to be going a bit slow at the moment but will pick up pace after this chapter as we move towards their exams and then the summer break. Review review review if you liked it, it really makes my day._


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